Just beat Venam in 13.5 so here's some quick thoughts.
-Does anyone remember Venam's introduction back in V12? It is still the part I remember the most LOL you actually got tricked by her straight up.
-THE LAYOUT OF THE CITY IS SO MUCH BETTER. The old one was much more spacious but it was very easy to get lost in it. Not to mention how certain key area's like Venam's house are easy to miss. Its much more condensed and the important areas got a well needed overhaul so they stick out.
-Speaking of which... Venam's gym got a overhaul as well. Instead of mixing colors, you have to go through panels with various effects and turn on switches. It's much more straightforward by design as you can tell what each panel does. The previous one you had to like... Look at a easy to miss portrait... It also fits Venam's character very well. I was curious to see how they would make this different from Amber's gym... Assuming her gym here still has the same "HYPE!" building gimmick.
-Does anyone know how rare the Black Prisms are? I finished Mr. Luck's quest but was curious as to if they're as rare as shinies are in this game. I WAS NOT expecting him to have a full on shop system now... I uh. Learned that the hard way.
-Glad there is now a difficulty designed for people (Like me) who just play for the story. I feel kind of bad for the hardcore players though.
-THANK GOD THEY REHAULED THOSE BOSS POKEMON. OH MY GODDD YOU DON'T HAVE TO BREAK THEIR SHIELD TO ACTUALLY HIT THEM ANYMORE. OH MY GODDDD.
-Various QOL changes such as being able to start quests by talking to the initiating NPC are very nice to have.
And I think that's all I have for now. For being a "half update", they really did change a lot here. And this is only the first half of the first chapter!!! ....Wish me luck because I am going to need it when I encounter that fruity rift man and his massive fish.
